Nicola De Maria counts among the most important representatives of contemporary Italian art.
Nicola De Maria was born in Foglianise in 1954. In the early 1970s Nicola De Maria was initially occupied with photography. At that time he also moved to Turin, where se began making pencil-, watercolor- and pastel drawings on writing paper. Soon Nicola De Maria made his first paintings on canvas, and in 1977 he made his first murals in Milan. In 1979 Nicola De Maria was among the members of the Transavanguardia, however, unlike Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi, Sandro Chia and Mimmo Paladino, he remained true to abstraction.
The colorful, ornamental and also rhythmical works by Nicola De Maria at times show figurative notions. An optimistic and energetic atmosphere is the most striking feature of works by Nicola De Maria. His works, canvases, works on paper and even on silk, emanate a lust for life and merriness.
Nicola de Maria has had numerous solo shows, among them at the Kunstverein Ludwigsburg, Liechtenstein State Art Collection in Vaduz or the Museo d'Arte Contemporanea in Rome. The Turin Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea had a large exhibition of his works on paper in 2013, which documented his creation from the 1970 up until today. A comprehensive catalog was published accompanied the exhibition.
Nicola de Maria lives and works in his hometown Foglianise and in Turin.